Actor Will Smith's new film Suicide Squad has been slammed by the critics but the star says he is OK with failing at this point in his career.

Will Smith doesn't mind if his films fail as long as he is being creative.

Despite being panned by critics, Smith’s new movie Suicide Squad has been a box office hit, taking a record-breaking $135.1 million (£103.3 million), the biggest August debut in cinema history, and smashing the $94.3 million (£72 million) record set by Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy adaptation in 2014.

Fans worldwide have flocked to cinemas to see the DC Comics’ film, which stars Smith as Deadshot, Jared Leto as The Joker and Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, since its release on 4 August (16).

Speaking to the Associated Press (AP) on a promotional trip to Dubai, Smith defended his participation in the movie, and stressed that his creative choices have been hard won, with box office success no longer his biggest motivation.

"I feel like at this point in my career I've earned the right to fail," he explained.

Smith has previously cited the 1999 film Wild Wild West as a low point of his career. After the film's flop he suffered a career slump which he blames on his earlier success making him so hungry "to win" that he picked the wrong projects as he was more focused on money and box office credentials over great storylines.

Now, after his previous disappointments, the 47-year-old actor explains that he's ready to take chances, and is content with the fact not all of them will pay off.

"Right, so I'm gonna take shots and I'm not gonna hit 'em all because I'm gonna be trying really wild, aggressive creative things," he continued. "Some of them will be critically acclaimed, some of them will make money and some of them will be Wild Wild West," he laughed.

Wild Wild West which co-starred Kevin Kline, was a critical and box office disappointment, making only $222 million (£151 million) worldwide against a $170 million (£115 million) budget.